In the beginning there was Batman, and that was good.....

The main question that was posed this issue entailed what happens when the people of Gotham are in trouble? Normally they would not need to worry because they know that either Batman or a member of his extended family would come and save the day. But now, the extended family is mostly gone, so what will happen when Batman is in trouble? Who will come and save him? Two months ago, we were dealt a number of cliffhangers on Batman that showed just how dangerous this mission of Gordon's was going to end up being. We were shown also just how menacing Mr. Bloom truly was as he destroyed the Penguins henchmen and killed(??) the Penguin himself. This issue, one of those cliffhangers is resolved and the other is not even discussed. Is that a good thing? Let's find out.

Snyder again displays the differences between the two men who wore the cowl in this year. Last month, we saw a story that only revolved around Bruce and also the "origin" of Mr. Bloom, while this issue showed us Commissioner Gordon in the suit and his ideas and notions that he might not be fully ready to be the new Batman. The comic is divided into three sections in a way. The first section showing how much Gordon still needs to learn and also showing that even Batman can need help to solve a problem or win a fight. The second part of the story details Bruce Wayne and his plans to show the people of Gotham that it is time to rebuild and move on from the Joker's "Endgame". The third part of the story shows what the future might have been and also what is coming as Mr. Bloom slowly begins his own "Endgame". Granted, this isn't a perfect comic by any means - whenever Jim Gordon isn't on the page, the story does slow down dramatically, as the amnesiac Bruce Wayne feels a bit too maudlin to command our attention, while the homicidal Mister Bloom's murderous rampage doesn't quite feel creepy enough to really grab us, even with the show-stopping final scene. But ultimately, that's not why we're reading this book - most people aren't eagerly awaiting Bruce Wayne's return, as much as they want to see if Jim Gordon can live up to his potential with his brand-new suit, his brand-new team, and his brand-new way of doing things. And as Jim Gordon has learned, you can't beat City Hall - but it's surprisingly fun watching City Hall beat him. But regardless, getting to the end result is going to be the fun part of this story. Do we really know how its going to end? Probably. But we can be sure that Snyder will continue to throw curveballs at us along the way. I give this issue a 8 out of 10.